There's More to Life Than Knitting!

Join Suna as she stops knitting long enough to ponder her life, share her joys and concerns, and comment on the goings on in the world.
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Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Ms. Betterbody

Today's inducer of happiness is a word I have avoided for long periods of my life: exercise. I've definitely had a love-hate relationship with it.

As my old friend JD pointed out to me on Facebook today, I had quite an infatuation with aerobics in grad school. My friend Kay and I would go to a dimly lit gym and leap and squat for hours listening to the best of the 80s. I still think of leg lifts when I hear "When Doves Cry," by Prince. We were going 5 days a week at one point, and I got down to 110 pounds. I am short, but not small boned, so that was one thin girl.

But, I spent most of my life 15-20 pounds more than that, and was fine. After a brief foray into jogging that made my poor ex-husband think I was "athletic" I didn't do anything until after the first child. I went to a gym, rode my bike, etc. It was very frustrating, but I got back to my normal weight, only to really, really pork out with the second pregnancy thanks to eating the Bradley Method's diet. Whoa. A lot of food. I hit my largest for a few years after Beccano was born.
Suna at Her Weightiest

Lordy. It was really hard to exercise, because I got no sleep for nearly three years. But, eventually I took up riding a road bike, because that was my husband's hobby, and I hoped it would be a bonding thing. Cycling and a lot of Jazzercise, combined with an infected thyroid dropped 60 pounds. People began to say I looked "too thin." Here's a photo from a bit after that time:
Thin, but Tired
I was dealing with the end of my marriage and such, so not terribly perky. But, wearing size 6 clothing! I tried that belt on last week...not so buckly any more.

What this leads me to is that since then, I haven't gone up and down quite so much, but keep having to reign myself in. I do love food, and I have portion control issues. I keep eating as much as the men in the family, forgetting they are bigger and have a faster metabolism than me. So, when it appeared that I was growing out of all my better clothes, and when I read all those healthy food books, I got serious about eating right and exercising again. Yep, my exciting "diet" is eating less (and healthier) food and exercising more. What a formula.

I am ten pounds less (at least--I actually didn't weigh until I had been eating better for a few weeks) than I was in January. I had been walking a lot when the weather was good, but realize that I can't walk once it gets hot (I faint when I overheat). So, I finally joined the gym in the beautiful "new" community center that has probably been there 4 years now (I can't find info on it). It is only a mile from the house and has really nice equipment, considering what you pay for it--quite a bargain compared to the fancy place where Tuba Boy used to work. I don't hate exercise, really, just resent the time it takes, and get tired of having to change clothing and shower so much. I will focus on the positive. I get to look at nice trees and not be overly hot while I walk or jog!

Today I actually treadmilled and did weight machines. I always feel silly, like I am faking people out. But, I was the youngest person there, so if the older folks can do it, I can, too. I know I need to do all that stuff for my health and all. I want happy bones and muscles! I am just glad I let Lee encourage me, and forced myself. Now I just have to keep it up.

1 comment:

Mary said...

I'm off to Curves, Sue Ann. I don't like doing the exercise but hate it when the scale numbers go up plus I have to maintain my strength as best as I can. If I can do it, you can as you are a young'un. Mary